A blog about designing, creating, and painting wooden model soldiers for wargaming. These models are sometimes known as "craftees". To me, they are wooden warriors.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Tutorial on Painting the French Ligne - Part 4

Now it is time to start working on the face and hair. After that is complete, I will do the hats (shakos and bearskins) and muskets then do the final touches.

First, don't limit yourself to a single flesh color. Games Workshop has at least four different ones and I am sure that Foundry and Reaper have more. I also found a very pale pink flesh called "Santa's Flesh" which really looks nice.

Start by painting the head a solid flesh color. I gave the fusiliers a mix, while the grenadiers tended towards the paler colors (taller northern stock) and the voltigeurs tended towards the darker colors (more tanned and shorter southern stock).

With the blank head done you can now work on the face. I find it easier to draw it on with a pen and then use paint to fill in the areas. At this point I only draw the outline of the ear and where the hair line is.

Again, as with the uniform, don't draw little clones. Making them exactly the same is next to impossible anyway, so use that to your benefit and make them different. Look at hair styles, ear shapes and so on.

As you can see with the above, I have a bald guy and one going balding. Part on the left; parts on the right; block cuts, waves. Go crazy with it. Once you are done with that, paint in the hair using every shade of hair color you have in your paint set.

We are making progress. Time to start working on the face (eyes and nose).